Mel Gibson was sued, Jodie, by the writer of “The Passion of the Christ.” Did you not watch that episode of the Mel Gibson soap opera? This was for the movie that made him hundreds of millions of dollars, considered anti-Semitic and extremely violent.

Before Oksana and the tapes and that whole scandal. He was such a nice guy. You know, forget the DUI and the anti-Semitic and racist remarks. Forget attacking reporters verbally during the promotion for his last movie–and on camera, no less. Forget the fact that just about no one will work with him, and that you are saddled with an unrelease-able movie in which he plays a man who’s got a beaver puppet stuck on his mitt.

I’m pretty sure none of the men mentioned above have had lawsuits that started this way:

“When Ben agreed to write the screenplay for The Passion for Mel Gibson, he became ensnarled, unbeknownst to him, in a conspiracy of ongoing fraud…”

Author

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.

I really don’t care what he said when he was fighting with his girlfriend. Sometimes men try to use words as weapons. That was just one such occasion. I don’t care what he says, I don’t think he’s my friend. I think he’s a good actor who’s movies I enjoy. I’m not going to let his behavior change my habits.

I’m thinking that Lori actually polled everyone who work in the film business. You’re being far too generous. It’s safe to say that a great many people don’t like Mel Gibson for what he represents. I’m talking about regular movie fans and people in the “biz”. To throw doubt on Lori’s theory, Mel Gibson has just been dumped from the newest Hangover film…by the same people who WORK in the business. As for Jodie… how can an Ivy League graduate exhibit such amazing ignorance and stupidity in supporting a mysogynistic and violent individual like Mel. Would Jodie still be supporting Mel, if he actually had carried out some of the threats in those infamous telephone calls? I for one will watch that new Hangover film, since the actors had the good sense to “just say NO to Mel”. RC in Austin, Texas

I doubt she was referring to just Mel’s fan base – fans don’t compose the entire film industry. He is loved and respected by those who WORK in the business. If you were able to see past your own ignorance, you would see that most of Mel’s fan base is still intact. Most of us are able to empathize with a man who suffers from mental illness. He, like anyone else who suffers from bi-polar disease, needs help and understanding. Where is your humanity?